CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Sunday.

CRSP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 target price on CRISPR Therapeutics and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.78.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $60.08 on Friday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $44.12 and a 52 week high of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a current ratio of 17.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.07.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.46 million for the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%. Analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $210,577.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,076,636.34. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSK plc bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $168,890,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,082,000 after purchasing an additional 859,334 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,522,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,777,000 after purchasing an additional 735,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,706,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.